Wednesday, December 14, 2011

A look ahead to 2012!

Now that Ironman Cozumel has come and gone, I can't help but wonder what's next. The past year has been dedicated to spending hours upon hours with my heart rate in zone 2, and constantly building endurance to get me across the finish line. So now that I have my finisher's medal and hold the title of Ironman it is time to plan for my next big goal.


Yes, I plan to do another Ironman. No, it will not be in 2012.

I am still such a new runner and triathlete that I want to spend the next year really working on speed, technique and strength. You know I have never been taught to run correctly? I heel strike like I am attempting to do an Irish jig while running, I drop my hips like I have an attitude problem and I'm pretty sure the cadence of my feet is either too slow or too fast. Colorado has tons of good runners and running groups, and I plan to find one that will help me learn to run like a runner and not like a girl running away from a bear.

awful, awful form!
I also need to spend more time riding because my bike handling skills are less than stellar. I won't tell you just how many times I have fallen off my bike this past season but I can assure you it is more than when I was learning to ride without training wheels for the first time. Somehow both my bike and my bones are still in tact.

I'm smiling because I haven't fallen off yet
With the technique and speed work on the run, I have a pretty lofty goal for the spring. I'm slightly scared to type it because it is aggressive but doable if I work hard. I signed up for the Colorado marathon back in October to celebrate being a new resident of the Rocky Mountain State. This will be my first stand alone marathon, but the third marathon I will have trained for. The first marathon I trained for I didn't get to run because of tendinitis that was diagnosed 2 weeks before the race. Then I trained for the marathon portion of the Ironman. 20 mile runs no longer scare me. I'm not scared of the distance. My long runs training for the marathon that I never got to run averaged a 9:20ish pace. My long runs training for Ironman were slower- about a 10:30 pace. I think I can get my long runs back to starting with a 9 and then I hope to go sub 4 hours on May 6th. It's aggressive, it is going to be tough, but I can do it. The slight downhill will hopefully help!


Other than going sub 4 for the marathon, I also have some triathlon goals to achieve in 2012. I enjoy the half distance but I have only done two of them. The first one I really messed up my nutrition on a super hot day and had to walk all 13.1 miles. The second one I did totally with my heart rate in zone 2 as a practice race execution for Ironman. This year- I want to actually race a 70.3. Sub 6 in the 70.3 distance is mine. I don't know which 70.3 yet, but I'll keep you posted when I decide.

Other goals for 2012 include trying as many Colorado beers as I can, hiking a 14,000 mountain, riding my bike up that same said mountain (after I learn not to fall off my bike), getting back into rock climbing, cooking tons of new recipes, learning to snowboard, and having a great time in general.



2011 was a truly wonderful year. I think 2012 will prove to be just as amazing!

14 comments:

  1. I can't wait to the 2012 triathlon season! I hope to race my first 70.3 this coming year and I couldn't be more excited about it. Good luck with training for a marathon!

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  3. Rev3 or Musselman maybe? Then you'll get to see all your Z's! I'll probably only do Rev3.

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  4. Come join me for mooseman :)

    Also your marathon is going to be awesome!

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  5. I like the 2012 plan! It sounds more varied and fun :)

    That marathon course is crazy! That's a net loss of 1000 feet!!

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  6. I'm going to ask my sisters who live in Denver if they have the intel on any groups. My brother-in-law also cycles a ton so he may have ideas on people to ride with.

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  7. I would like to come and help you with the beer goal. And you TOTALLY have both a sub 4 and a sub 6 in your very immediate future!

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  8. I'm going to be the nay sayer here and say: keep your long runs slow! put speed work in your other runs. just my two cents. :)

    and, sub 6 is yours easily. you could do it tomorrow.

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  9. Do you know which running club you are going to join? Also, I'm 90% sure I'm signing up for that marathon (going for sub-4 again too), but I'm waiting for a week or two of my new job to go by so I can see if I have time to balance everything.

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  10. Sounds like you are going to have a great 2012! Lots of impressive "sub x" PRs ahead. :)

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  11. aw, i can't wait to see what 2012 brings for you! amazing things, no doubt :)

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  12. I love reading your blog entries. Such an inspiration.

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  13. I endorse the "trying as many beers as possible" goal for 2012.

    I have prolly written this to you 100 times already, but it has been so amazing reading about how you got kicked in the face to crashing your bike in that race to now becoming a M@*&@*&@ F*@&#*@@ IRONMAN!!!

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  14. It sounds like you have some great things in the works for next year! I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do next year...maybe some trail running, but I don't know yet!
    I have heard great things about the Colorado Marathon!

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